Surprise for Annie
by HPfanonezillion
Summary: Annie returns home to find the house lit only with candles and Gale waiting to give her a special night alone.


_Author's note: In honor of having 400 followers on Tumblr, I asked for requests to celebrate. This one came from _for-prim_ who is a fabulous writer as_ _well as a generous reader of my work. You should go check out her fics and her Tumblr if you have one (both are for-prim). Her request was, "I humbly ask for Annie/Gale - happy times for them, without the depression and hard times hanging over them."_

_So here, for-prim, is my interpretation of your request. I hope it's what you were looking for.  
_

_Happy reading!  
_

Surprise for Annie

By Danielle Cheri

"Gale?" Annie said quietly, walking into the house. It was dark except for the glow of candles every few feet.

"Follow the candles." He called.

She did and found her husband in the kitchen filling two glasses with wine. "What's this?"

"A special dinner for you." He brought a glass to her. "I feel like we both get so caught up in everything that we don't take a whole lot of time for each other." He kissed her softly.

"Where are the kids?"

"Maggie and Pearl are staying the night next door with the Connors and I sent Finn to his friend Jake's for the night." He pushed a bit of hair behind Annie's ear. "Is that okay?"

"That's fine." She smiled and pushed herself up on her toes to kiss him.

"How did your appointment go?" He asked, escorting her to a chair and helping her sit.

"Fine. Do we have to talk about that tonight?"

"No, we don't." He put a plate in front of her.

"You grilled steaks." She said appreciatively.

"And homemade mashed potatoes. I almost burned everything trying to make it perfect." He chuckled. "I hope it still tastes good."

"You always do a good job cooking, Gale." She assured him.

"Well, thanks. In my bachelor days, I did quite a bit. You've spoiled me in the four years we've been married, though."

"I'm a housewife. It's kind of my job to take care of you." She said as she cut a bite off her steak. She popped it in her mouth. "Mm. Perfect."

"Good."

Annie watched him silently for a while as they ate.

"What?" He asked finally.

"I'm just amazed that you're still with me sometimes. I can be such a bitch."

"You remember our vows? I promised to stay through the good and the bad. We've had our bad times, sure. But we've also had a ton of good. And I know I can be kind of an ass myself sometimes, too."

She reached across the table and put her hand on top of Gale's. "I don't deserve you, Gale."

"You deserve everything, Annie. You went through thirty years of hell from your father to the Games to losing the only man that ever showed you proper kindness in all that time. You have a very smart son. We have two fabulous daughters. And I think that we have many wonderful years ahead of us together. We'll keep working through everything. We've already come so far. Now," He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, "no more talk about the bad things. Let's focus on the good."

"Let's start with this dinner. Delicious." She smiled and ate some more.

"Don't fill up, I have desert."

"I do love desert."

"And after that, we can make love and not have to keep it down." He said with a sly grin.

"That's even better than desert." She looked at him for a few seconds and then moved to sit on his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she rested her forehead on his. "I love you. I adore you. I can't imagine my life without you." She brushed a kiss across his lips.

His hands slid up her back as he took over the kiss, deepening it. Her fingers played in his hair as his moved over her back. He broke the kiss with a happy sigh. "You're amazing, Annie."

"You're not so bad yourself." She trailed her fingertips over his cheek. "You're still my rock."

He smiled and kissed her eyes. "But it's all clear skies."

She grinned and kissed him. "All because of you."

They stayed in each other's arms for a long time, sharing fleeting kisses and caresses.

"Why don't we take this somewhere more comfortable?" She asked, standing and taking his hand. She led him into the living room and sat down on the couch.

He sat down beside her and brought his hand up to the back of her head. He pulled her close and mumbled against her lips, "I love you, my Annie." Then he kissed her. He reclined on the couch, pulling her on top of him.

They kissed lazily for a long time. Annie broke the kiss and looked down at him for a moment. She smiled and then dropped her head to his chest. "Let's just lay here for a while. We have all night."

"Whatever you want, honey." Gale said, combing his fingers through her hair.

"Just to be with you, Gale. For now."


End file.
